I know on top of all else it is money. How does a person get started. Is it by way of sponsors or banks? It has been a dream of mine to own my own bowling center. But seeing how expensive it can be makes me realize that just going to league every week will be about the most I can afford. Help me get ideas so I can make my dreams come true.
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Keep Rolling, eventually those pins will fall and bring the ball right back.

first - get as much experience as you can inside a center or two. work the desk, the back, the office, the restaurant, the bar. Learn the business inside and out.
figure out what business model you want to follow - the league bowler model, or the open play/birthday party model. do a LOT of research. Determine a plan, and stick with it. Look outside the bowling business for support.
when you get ready to actually build the center, whatever you do, try to NOT buy new.
Look around for a big building - check out the bowling business demographics for your area, ie. how many people does it take to support one lane.
Look online and try to find some used lanes. A year or so ago, I found 12 complete lanes - wood, no less - for sale, with pin setters, scorers, seating, ball racks, even house balls for $2500 plus shipping. Yes, the shipping is expensive. But the $2500? Just about free...
Find good people that you want to have as partners. Find a good attorney (yeah, I know - an oxymoron) - you'll need the attorney as a key player in your business until everything is set up.

Good luck - and most importantly - FOLLOW YOUR DREAM!!!

I will go ahead and tell you the hard part. I strongly suggest you have 50% in cash then finance the rest. So to open a new 24 Lane center in a rented building will cost somewhere around $1.7 million. So you need $850,000.00 in cash. You can have as many partners as you wish so they can all chip in on the cash total. I also STRONGLY suggest that each partner put of the exact same amount of money. Can you swing it with less cash down??? Yes maybe, but you will not be a happy camper. The loan payments are just too high. Think in terms of about $15,000.00 a month. When you add another $15,000.00 a month for the building your nut gets pretty big.
Ron Clifton